The present invention relates to juvenile car seats, and particularly to juvenile car seats having restraint systems for minimizing injury to a seated child in case the vehicle in which the seat is being used stops suddenly or is involved in an accident. More particularly, the present invention relates to a child car seat with a barrier shield positioned in front of a child seated in the child car seat.
Child car seats having movable safety shields are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,500,135 to Kincheloe; 4,159,127 to Czernakowski et al.; and 4,190,288 to Korger. It is also known to provide abdominal shields in child car seats. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,456,302 to Knoedler et al.; 4,662,683 to Knoedler et al.; 4,880,277 to Takahashi et al.; 4,687,255 to Klanner et al.; and 4,342,483 to Takada.
What is needed is an improved child car seat provided with an adjustable shield that moves automatically during a sudden vehicle stop to retain a child in the child car seat without loading the crotch area of the child by tightening a child-restraining harness. An improved child car seat having a child restraint shield that would move against the thigh region of a child seated in the child car seat to minimize the effect of "submarining" movement of a seated child during sudden vehicle stops would be welcomed by consumers.
According to the present invention, a child car seat is provided for restraining a child seated in the car seat. The child car seat includes a seat shell having a bottom seat portion and a back seat portion, a barrier shield, and means for supporting the barrier shield above the bottom seat portion for pivoting movement between an initial position and a child-restraining position. The child car seat further includes spring means for yieldably biasing the pivotable barrier shield to its initial position and harness means for pivoting the spring-loaded barrier shield to its child-restraining position in response to forward movement of a child seat in the seat shell away from the back seat portion and toward the barrier shield during a sudden vehicle stop.
In preferred embodiments, the barrier shield is a pivotable unit that is positioned to lie adjacent to the thighs and abdomen of a child car seat occupant. The shield is coupled by a crotch strap to a shoulder harness assembly that is arranged to embrace a child seated in the child car seat. During a sudden vehicle stop, the barrier shield pivots downwardly toward the bottom seat portion in opposition to a return spring so as to block submarining movement and discharge of a child from the child car seat underneath the shield.
Illustratively, the bottom seat portion is formed to include strap connector means for anchoring a middle portion of the crotch strap to the bottom seat portion. The strap connector means is defined by a buckle case mounted in the bottom seat portion and arranged to lie between the legs of a child seated in the seat shell. A first end of the crotch strap is fixed to a connection device coupled to the shoulder harness assembly, a second end of the crotch strap is fixed to the pivotable barrier shield, and a buckle is formed to include a guide slot slidably receiving a middle portion of the crotch strap. The buckle has a tongue below the strap-receiving guide slot and is connectable to and disconnectable from the buckle case.
During a sudden vehicle stop, the shoulder harness assembly will tighten up as a result of forward movement of the upper body of a child seated in the seat shell. The tightened shoulder harness pulls on the first end of the crotch strap attached to the connection device, thereby pulling the middle portion of the crotch strap through the strap-receiving guide slot formed in the buckle while the buckle tongue is anchored to the strap connector means provided in the bottom seat portion. Pulling on the middle portion of the crotch strap causes the second end of the crotch strap to be pulled down toward the bottom seat portion. This downward movement of the second end of the crotch strap causes the pivotable barrier shield to pivot downwardly under the control of the crotch strap to its child-restraining position against the thigh region of the child seated in the seat shell.
Advantageously, the improved child car seat includes a barrier shield that pivots to a position which helps to retain the child in the seat without loading the crotch area of the child with a tighter harness. Although the crotch strap is pulled to actuate the pivotable barrier shield, the crotch strap is positioned and guided during such shield actuation to maintain the comfort and safety of the child seated in the seat shell.
The child car seat also includes a visual indicator to help adults monitor the pivoted position of the pivotable barrier shield during harnessing of a child seated in the seat shell. Illustratively, the visual indicator includes a colored or marked display panel that moves in a window formed in a front portion of the barrier shield to advise an adult whether the barrier shield has been pivoted about an axle arm toward its child-restraining position.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as presently perceived.